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Gary Middle College is a place of transformation for many students, including Awanii Nicholson, a 32 year old student who decided to return to school and complete her High School and Associate’s Degrees last May. Awanii enrolled because she wanted to fulfill her dream of opening up her own day care, and make clear to her own children the importance and value of education.

Part of Awanii’s success has been her membership in the poetry club, Poetry in Motion, at Gary Middle College, run by the English teacher Ms. Nora Glenn.

Green, a student at Gary Middle College, was one of half a dozen panelists who participated in a public forum at Indiana University Northwest focusing on the school-to-prison pipeline and its effect on black youths in Northwest Indiana.

Fred Greene, President of the newly formed SAAB chapter composed of students from GMC received a standing ovation as he spoke at the SAAB regional summit. On October 26th, 8 Gary Middle College students traveled to the Indiana University Northwest Campus in Gary, IN to attend the Midwest Chapter Cluster Summit of SAAB--Student African American Brotherhood.

Students from GMC shared their experiences with other SAAB Chapters in the midwest region. SAAB is an organization that provides a support network for African American male students to foster their growth and development as students and future professionals.

Nora Glenn is a catalyst for change in her adult students’ lives. She is full of energy and enthusiasm to work with students who have had a rough past and want to turn their lives around. Ms. Glenn, a new English teacher at Gary Middle College (GMC), a night time high school/GED program operated by the GEO Foundation, is excited to be teaching at this school.

Today is the first day of our newest school family member—Gary Middle College. Please join me in congratulating James Joiner, principal of GMC, and his staff for putting all the pieces together to open this great new school. The school was scheduled to open with 100 students but due to high demand (300 applicants), it will open with more than 160 students.

For those of you who do not know, GMC is a school intended to serve students who find attending a traditional day time high school difficult due to their life circumstances. It is also intended to serve students who may have already left high school without earning a degree.

Thousands of students across the state are enrolled in 72 charter schools, including a dozen in Northwest Indiana. In addition, nearly 7,500 students have enrolled in Indiana's voucher program, allowing families to use tax dollars to send children to private schools.

The expanded number of charter schools across the state and the creation of the Indiana voucher program -- one of the broadest voucher programs in the country -- is the result of legislation adopted in 2011. The program provides vouchers, or scholarships, to eligible students to attend a private school of their choice. The first year, the voucher program was capped at 7,500. This year, the program is capped at 15,000 students. Next year, an unlimited number of students can apply.